PHOENIX, AZ - APRIL 3 : Head Coach Igor Kokoskov of the Phoenix Suns and Head Coach Quin Snyder of the Utah Jazz shake hands after the game on April 3, 2019 at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)
Utah Jazz alums: Suns do it again, fire Igor Kokoskov
Former Utah Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov is back on the job hunt after receiving his walking papers from the Phoenix Suns.
The perpetually dysfunctional Phoenix Suns have officially put another Utah Jazz alum through the proverbial meat grinder.
Per a late-breaking report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday, the Suns have fired former Jazz assistant Igor Kokoskov. The Serbian national had just one year at the helm for the Suns, compiling a 19-63 record.
Kokoskov is the third former Jazzman turned Suns head coach to get the axe in the Valley of the Sun in the last few years. Earl Watson and Jeff Hornacek also got the heave-ho from Suns owner Robert Sarver, as did Mehmet Okur and Tyrone Corbin, who were assistant coaches.
His dismissal ends months of speculation about his future at the front of the Suns’ bench.
For me, though, this firing goes way beyond the coincidence of several former Jazz guys losing their gigs in Phoenix. Well beyond that, it’s yet another in a long line of failures from Sarver.
With the No. 1 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Suns could have plucked a franchise-changer in Luka Doncic; a player with an intimate history with Kokoskov as the two led Slovenia to gold during FIBA’s EuroBasket 2017 tournament. It’s probably a safe bet that Coach Igor’s two cents were place on Luka.
Instead, Phoenix went with Deandre Ayton — a fine, young player in his own right but, very clearly, a guy who is multiple rungs below Doncic — essentially because he was a big man and a local guy from Sarver’s alma mater in the University of Arizona.
Talk about epic fail.
But while that misstep absolutely costed the Suns some wins this year, and maybe many more in the future, it may not have been the thing that cost Kokoskov his job in the end.
According to Wojnarowski, the plan had been the give Kokoskov another bite at the apple after his young Suns played better to close the year. However, GM James Jones (who didn’t hire Kokoskov) likely wanted his guy at the helm, and it seems as though Monty Williams could be that guy.
It’s unfortunate to see a super solid coach with considerable ties to the Jazz as Quin Snyder’s former top assistant fall prey to things beyond his control. But how about we go glass half-full on this?
Because Coach Igor did great things with the Jazz, and there’s probably still a seat on the team;s bench with his name on it. Make it so, Jazz FO!
